More women in Parly since 1994

The number of women serving in Parliament increased 56% between 1994 and 2009, according to the latest South Africa Survey.

“In 1994 there were 111 women out of the 400 members of Parliament (MPs) in the National Assembly, equating to 28% of all MPs.

“By 2009 the number of women in the National Assembly had increased to 173, or 43% of all MPs,” said the SA Institute of Race Relations today.

The survey is published yearly by the institute.

At provincial level, the trend was similar.

The province with the largest increase in the number of women in the legislature was KwaZulu-Natal, with 11 women holding seats in the 81-strong legislature in 1994.

This represented 14% of the legislature.

In 2009, the legislature had 80 members, with 30 women (38%).

“This represented an increase of 173% in the number of women holding seats there.”

The province with the most marginal increase was Gauteng, with women making up 29% of the chamber in 1994, and 32% in 2009.

The total number of seats in all the provincial legislatures in 1994 was 428, 23% of which were occupied by women.

The total in 2009 was 430, with 170 women holding seats.

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